The number of coronavirus infections in Gauteng on Friday stood at 969 but the provincial health department said it was encouraging that the number of recoveries was significantly high too.

Of the positive cases, 479 patients have recovered and subsequently tested negative, the provincial health department said on Friday.

The virus has claimed six lives in Gauteng.

The hardest-hit region remained Johannesburg with 575 positive cases, followed by Ekurhuleni with 180 infections and Tshwane with 109 cases.

The health department said it was still dealing with 62 cases in the province which could not be allocated by district.

“Allocating Gauteng cases to respective districts is ongoing after obtaining further information on contact numbers and addresses from law-enforcement agencies, provincial outbreak teams and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD),” said the department.